A Novel Method for Calcium Hardness Control of Closed OCC Recycling System

A new technique for recycling process water was developed in order to reduce the calcium hardness of the closed OCC recycling system. Calcium ions present in the white water were precipitated as calcium carbonate by a reaction with sodium carbonate and the CaCO$_3$precipitates were easily removed from the system by a dissolved air flotation(DAF) method. After the DAF stage, CO$_2$-gas was purged into the water because the pH of Na$_2$CO$_3$-treated white water was reduced to neutral by CO$_2$gas. Since CaCO$_3$precipitate tends to stick onto the fine fiber surface and then is selectively removed from the water, a proper amount of suspended solid in the process water acts as an important factor in deciding the removal efficiency. By the application of Na$_2$CO$_3$addition - DAF - CO$_2$purging to the short circulated white water the calcium hardness was significantly reduced by 92% and more. The removal of calcium ions with fine fibers led to drainage improvement, reduction of fresh water consumption, and enhanced efficiency of wet-end chemicals.